


Bar

by Avirra



Series: An Unholy Alliance [7]
Category: Star Trek : Mirror-verse, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Mirror Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-09
Updated: 2013-07-09
Packaged: 2017-12-18 05:12:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/875987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avirra/pseuds/Avirra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kirk and McCoy go to a bar to have a private talk, but find themselves being interrupted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bar

**Author's Note:**

> As a note, in my version of the Mirror-verse, the emphasis is on political maneuvering and manipulation rather than on violence and sex - though violence and sex are both certainly have their places (nothing overly graphic). Think in terms of more Machiavelli and less Caligula. Some cursing is also present.

After the physical was over came the other entrance tests. The questions seemed ridiculously easy to Kirk to the point that he began to wonder if he had misread something. But when he turned them in, he spotted Pike smiling smugly a few minutes later. From that, he assumed that he'd done pretty well on the tests.

By the time Kirk had finished lunch, his PADD gave a small beep to alert him to the downloading of his class schedule. A smirk formed on his face - definite proof that he'd passed the exams.

Entering the room that he and McCoy shared, Kirk tossed the PADD down onto his bed when he spotted something new on their table. Some time while they'd been away from the room, Pike had been in, leaving a note and a credit chip. 'If the two of you plan to go off-campus, at least get some civvies to wear. The cadet reds attract trouble like a magnet.'

Picking up the credit chip, Kirk looked around the room. At the moment, he had a few things, but he knew for a fact that beyond the issued uniforms, McCoy had only what he'd worn on the shuttle. A smile began to form. He could get McCoy's sizes from the system and he had at least a couple of hours to kill before McCoy came off-shift. Why not take the opportunity to get the doctor a set of clothes he'd like to see him in?

It was an hour later than Kirk expected McCoy would be when the doctor literally stumbled through the door, grunted something that might have been a greeting toward Kirk and headed straight for the bathroom. It was such a change from how McCoy had been earlier that Kirk followed behind, entering the bathroom behind McCoy without warning.

McCoy was leaning heavily, both hands gripping the sink. He didn't even bother to open his eyes before he growled.

"Don't you even knock?"

"Nope. So, why so rundown?"

Snorting, McCoy straightened enough to pull off his scrubs top that was soaked in both sweat and a variety of other less identifiable fluids.

"It took them about halfway into the shift to figure out that I don't have a protector. Went downhill from there pretty fast. Might've been better off starving in that damn cell after all."

"Hit the shower, then we'll go find that bar. You can explain that to me there."

"Sure. I could use a drink. Besides, after classes start tomorrow, I might not get another chance for awhile."

Filing that away as another comment to follow up on, Kirk exited back out of the bathroom, flopped into one of the chairs and waited. It didn't take long before McCoy finished, still drying off with a towel as he came into the main room. Apparently, bashfulness wasn't one of the doctor's traits either.

"I was thinking about it in there. Much as a drink sounds good, I'd better stay here. One, I'm exhausted and two, I've got nothing other than my uniforms."

"One, you'll sleep better if you take some time to unwind - two, do you want my medical history or don't you? - three, go look on your bed."

Kirk was beginning to expect that eyebrow to rise whenever he caught McCoy off-guard. Like now. McCoy picked up the first item of clothing, which happened to a civilian shirt the same color of blue as the science uniform.

"What's all this?"

"Just a change of clothes, Bones. Courtesy of Pike and no, I don't know why he bothered. Now come on and get dressed. There's still enough on this credit chip for us both to drink our fill."

Fingering the top for a moment longer, McCoy finally shrugged.

"What the hell - beats running around in scrubs."

McCoy proved to be a no-fuss dresser and it wasn't long before he was putting on his boots. Black jeans, black leather boots and an equally black leather jacket were what Kirk had picked to go with the blue shirt.

"Except for the jacket, I look like I'm wearing a civilian's idea of the uniform."

"That was kind of the idea, Bones. I was wondering what you'd look like once we got out into the black."

"Wait - I thought you said that clothes were from Pike."

"The money for them was. Same thing."

McCoy's eyes narrowed, but? The clothing fit, they didn't make him look like a clown and he really preferred getting a drink to fighting. So, all things considered, he just sighed, stopped for a moment to attach a small medkit to his belt and headed for the door.

As he got out of the chair, Kirk gave the kit a speculative glance.

"Do you always take a medkit with you to a bar?"

"Do you always ask questions? The answer to both is yes. Since you've got the credit chip, you're buying, Jim."

Kirk fell in behind McCoy, soon moving up to walking beside him. The first bar they spotted off the campus was obviously tailored to the Empire's newest recruits. It was bright, shiny and filled with cadets, most of whom were under 22. Kirk and McCoy exchanged one brief look and walked on. A couple of the cadets inside spotted the pair as they moved past, then exited to follow.

Five blocks later, they came across one that McCoy deemed had character - which Kirk translated as 'looks old enough for our grandparents to have drank here'. Still, once they stepped inside, the tables weren't on top of one another and there was an acceptable level of noise that would make casual eavesdropping difficult. Kirk shrugged his agreement and headed toward a vacant table as far away from the door as he could manage. One of the servers was there shortly after they sat. Jim handed her the chip.

"Beer for me and - what did you want to go with, Bones?"

"Bourbon."

"And bourbon for him. Keep us refilled and bring us a plate of whatever passes for snacks here."

She simply nodded her understanding and moved off immediately. McCoy approved.

"Never could stand for someone to stand there and tell me their life's story when all I wanted was a damn drink."

The server quickly gained Kirk's approval as well when she had a sampler plate of snacks and their first round of drinks delivered in just a few minutes.

"Just let me know what you like from the plate and I'll bring you some more of it."

That said, she whisked off to another table as McCoy sampled his drink.

In another part of town, Pike was receiving an alert on his PADD. Taking a glance at the message, he chuckled and offered the PADD across the table to Puri.

"Using the credit chip you gave him for drinks out in town, eh? Not exactly a shock."

"No, it isn't. Not exactly a shock that the pair of them avoided the bar right off campus either. So, you re-introduce yourself to McCoy yet?"

"Not yet and I don't intend to for his first year, Chris."

Pike paused in mid-reach for his drink.

"You aren't letting it be known that you're his patron, Raj?"

"No, Chris. Getting someone in as a cadet with McCoy's credentials? Not likely to ever happen again. I want to see what my people do when they're faced with real talent. If they try to make use of it or bury it."

"You already know which they're more likely to do."

Taking a sip of his own drink, Puri nodded.

"I know. But this is quite possibly my best chance to prove to the Admiralty that we're losing potentially good doctors to the vain and incompetent that are running the schools. There's enough time for the damn cutthroat games once they graduate. With McCoy, they can't claim that he tested above his ability to perform."

Another alert drew Pike's attention and Puri handed him the PADD back. Pike looked over the alert and cursed. Raj sighed and sat his drink back down.

"Who's being an idiot now, Chris?"

"Part of the new batch I came in with. I already had to have several of them boothed, so I had tracer chips placed in all of them while they were still too disoriented to notice. I didn't tell them about the chips, but I did tell them their limits. Two of them have gone past the limit."

Studying the signals coming from the chips, he groaned.

"Guess which bar they're at?"

"Same as Kirk and McCoy?"

"Good guess. Care to accompany me?"

"Sure. I haven't had a chance to see either of our toys in action yet. Should I get a detail to go with us?"

"No, our bodyguards should be sufficient. And if they prove not to be, they'll be replaced. I don't want a bodyguard that can be bested by a first year cadet."

At the bar, McCoy was on his second bourbon and Kirk on his third beer when Kirk decided it was time to start the questioning.

"So - why is it you probably won't be coming out drinking with me after tomorrow?"

Lifting his glass, McCoy studied the contents before downing them and holding the empty aloft to signal for another.

"Main reason is that I doubt I'll have time. I've been informed that I'm expected to pull a full shift at the hospital in addition to my classes. Since classes are eight hours a day and the shifts are eight hours? Means I've got to cram eating, homework and sleeping into the remaining eight hours. And when we have days off from studies, I'll be on call for extra shifts. Plus, as the new low man on the totem pole, I'll be getting all the shit jobs no-one else wants to touch."

The server dropped off both another bourbon and a fresh beer. Kirk didn't pay attention to her - his focus was all on McCoy. He knew his own class schedule was murder, but that was because he was doing the four year of study in three. Even so, he wasn't doing more than twelve hours a day and he'd still have days off.

"I don't get it, Bones. Are they trying to make you fail?"

McCoy lifted his fresh glass in salute.

"Right on the first guess, Jim. You think the best of Starfleet Medical is here? Hell, this is where they stick the ones that couldn't hack it on a Starship. The ones that are incompetent, burnt-out or too crippled to be of use to the Empire anywhere else. Why do you think men like Pike have their own doctors? Why do you think I had you sign that form? You get one enemy with money and those guys would 'accidentally' give you some shit you're allergic to. And in your case, they wouldn't even have to search hard to find something."

The blue eyes became stormy as Kirk shook his head.

"I still don't get it. I know there have to be decent doctors in Starfleet."

"There are, Jim. They're on the main ships and the better Starbases. I'm pretty sure if you checked, the vast majority of them are either from rich families or from families with a long lineage of service to the Empire. Anyone like that went through the Academy with a known powerful patron or mentor as their protector - instructors would know better than to even sneeze their way."

"And you?"

"Me? I'm just a country doctor really, Jim. One who had a father that talked me into something that I wish I'd been old enough to know better about doing. Eh, water under the bridge. Suffice to say that by the time I did know what was in my best interests, no patron with an ounce of self-preservation would have touched me. My ex's family pretty well owns every inch of Peach County. Once things went sour, everybody knew not to touch me with a ten-foot pole."

This time the snort came from Kirk.

"Pike wouldn't have been interested in 'just a country doctor'. Besides, that doesn't quite match what you told me when we were introduced."

"No. Don't suppose it does. Tell me something, Jim. Does four beers affect your reaction time in a fight?"

"Not by much. Why? Oh. Are you talking about those jokers that followed us here?"

"Yep. Good. I was starting to worry about you handling the physical end if you hadn't picked up on that. I recognize two of them from the shuttle ride. Don't know the other four with them."

"Same here, Bones. Hmm - six to one odds."

"Five to one, Jim."

"How do you figure that?"

"I figure I'll take one of them off of your hands."

The sarcasm was thick in Kirk's reply.

"Gee thanks."

McCoy ignored the sarcasm and just let his drawl get a touch thicker.

"You're welcome, Jim. Anything for my roommate."

Then Kirk yelped as a hypospray went off against his skin. He wheeled on McCoy, eyes flashing, but he hesitated when he saw McCoy applying the same hypo to himself.

"What the hell was that for?"

"You said the beers wouldn't affect you much. Which means they would affect you some. So - I've sobered us both up. Which makes me very cranky and I won't play nice with these idiots. Made me waste the after effects of perfectly good bourbon."

Blinking, Kirk realized that his head was clearer than it had been just a minute before. Then he gave an unpleasant smile as the six men headed their direction.

"You know, Bones, I'm beginning to get a clearer picture of the advantages of teaming up with a doctor."

"Peachy. We'll discuss this more afterwards."

The hypospray that had been in McCoy's hand was tucked away and another took its place. With his other hand, McCoy picked his glass of bourbon back up, but he didn't take a drink. He just continued to hold it as the foremost of the six reached the table. Kirk tensed, but to his surprise, McCoy seemingly stayed relaxed as he swirled the alcohol in his glass and spoke to him.

"Something I can do for you, friend?"

The cadet's attention had been focused on Kirk, so the question from McCoy seemed to throw him for a moment. He recovered quickly though.

"Mind your own business. Our business is with him."

"No can do. Speaking as a doctor, I recommend for the health of you and your companions that you leave now."

The cadet took a long look at McCoy and then started laughing, turning to Kirk.

"You've picked a funny companion, Kirk. He thinks the two of you can take on the six of us?"

The man turning his attention to Kirk was all the opening McCoy needed. The speed with which the hypospray was used on the cadet startled Kirk, but not as much as the scream that emerged from the cadet a few seconds later. He dropped to the floor immediately after that, whimpering. Looking up with a smile that might have been taken as pleasant under other circumstances, McCoy addressed the other cadet that he recognized from the shuttle.

"Now, your friend here ignored my clear advice regarding the health benefits of turning around and getting the hell out of this bar under his own power. Are you and the other boys as careless about your health as he was?"

All of their eyes were still focused on the man on the floor when a sharp whistle came from the doorway. Kirk recognized that whistle and looked up as Pike strode into the room with another officer close behind. The whistle drew McCoy's attention as well and he gave Kirk a light nudge.

"That one following Pike is his doctor - Rajinder Puri. Been to one of his lectures. Don't piss in his cornflakes."

Kirk gave McCoy a long look.

"Your sayings are going to take some getting used to, Bones."

Before McCoy could respond back to that, Pike was there, looking down at the cadet writhing on the floor. When he heard the soft sound of Puri's chuckle, Pike's attention when straight to McCoy.

"Care to explain what happened to Cadet Delseder, Cadet McCoy?"

The drawl was less pronounced, but still distinct as McCoy gave Delseder an unconcerned glance.

"There isn't much to explain, Captain Pike. I gave my fellow cadet some sound medical advice and he chose to ignore it."

"I see. And what exactly do you suppose is wrong with him?"

Leaning over a bit to take a closer look at the man on the floor, McCoy gave a small shrug.

"Of course, without a thorough examination, I'm just making an educated guess, Captain, but if I were to venture a guess, I'd say it looks a lot like a case of what I've heard some call the Tellerite Twist."

"Is it fatal?"

"Never heard of it being lethal. Heard a few say death was preferable."

Pike glanced over to his companion.

"That something you can cure, Doctor Puri?"

"Most certainly, Captain Pike. Of course, the full course of treatment is rather unpleasant in itself."

Nodding at the piece of information, Pike suddenly turned to face one of the other cadets.

"Cadet Fleming - are you hard of hearing?"

Fleming finally pried his eyes away from Delseder.

"Sir?"

Pike's gaze went colder.

"The questions aren't going to get any easier, Fleming. Are - you - hard - of - hearing?"

"Sir! No, Sir!"

"Then would you care to explain to me why you and Delseder are in this part of town? Against my express orders?"

After Fleming stammered for a minute, Pike held up one hand to stop him.

"From that, I take it that there was no good reason for disobeying my orders. Obviously, I was far too lenient with the two of you."

The icy gaze turned on the other four.

"Unless the rest of you are interested in sharing the punishment for this pair, I would advise you to find somewhere else to be."

The other four cadets practically ran over one another in their haste to leave. Kirk noticed that McCoy was watching them as closely as he was. The names of those four weren't known to them yet, but their faces were.

Pike noted their gazes with a smirk, but didn't comment. Instead he turned to Puri.

"Doctor Puri, if you would be so kind as to see that Cadet Delseder is transported to Academy Medical."

"Of course, Captain Pike. This would be an excellent opportunity for our newer students to get a first hand look at this particular disease."

A minute later, both Puri and Delseder were disappearing in a transporter beam. Pike turned back to Kirk and McCoy.

"I'll be returning to the Academy now to go over the penalties for disobeying a direct order with Cadet Fleming. Enjoy the rest of your evening - oh, and don't forget the curfew for first year cadets."

Kirk responded to that comment.

"We won't, Sir."

After another transporter beam removed Pike and Fleming from the bar, their server came back over with a fresh beer and another glass of bourbon.  
"On the house. The owner is very grateful that you stopped the fight before it started."

Kirk gave her a smile that McCoy could already tell was going to be trouble as she blushed like a school girl - and her school years were long behind her. After she left, Kirk gave McCoy another long studying look.

"Do I even want to know how that disease got the nickname of twist?"

Polishing off what had been left of his other drink, McCoy shook his head.

"Trust me - you're happier not knowing. But as I said before - run 'em through a shower, then run 'em by me. Your body parts will thank you for it."


End file.
